Tongue piercing, or piercing of any other site within the
mouth, is associated with a variety of risks. Please consider
these risks carefully before deciding whether to have your
tongue pierced.
Risk of infection: Body piercers must adhere to infection
control standards, such as sterilization of needles and other
instruments, to prevent disease transmission, but many
practitioners are unlicensed and often self-trained. Intraoral
piercing has a high risk of infection because of the high
levels of bacteria in the mouth. Infection can lead to a
variety of health problems.
Risk of dental damage: Intraoral jewelry can injure teeth
by chipping or cracking enamel. While cracking may be
confined to the tooth surface, it may also go deep into the
tooth. This could result in nerve damage, leading to the
need for a root canal (a procedure by which the small,
tubular channel normally filled with pulp in the root of a
tooth is opened, cleaned, and filled) or an extraction. Most
dentists discourage oral piercing because of these and
other risks.
Tongue piercing is painful, as no anesthesia is used.
Complications of tongue piercing, other than those listed
above, can include:
Loss of blood during the piercing procedure
Compromise of the airway by post-surgical tongue swelling
